SPRINGFIELD — The Springfield School District’s investigation of outsourcing transportation services first came to the attention of the community through a request for proposals for a management company to respond to a precise set specifications. Once that became known, the matter took the 21st-century turn of going viral.

At Thursday night’s meeting, the school board heard from and responded to members of the community and representatives of about 50 employees in the transportation department. The first thing made clear by the administration was that no decisions have been made.

“The dedication and service of our bus drivers are, without question, the utmost in professionalism,” said Executive Director of Operations Don Mooney. “In our budget process, we need to prioritize all costs and look for opportunities to save. The financial consideration is a big part of this, but we’ve had no responses yet (from interested vendors), and it would be premature for the district to state any information.”

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Mooney referenced the challenges of the Act 1 environment under which districts function. With a cap set for spending increases and costs rising in areas such as retirement funding and benefits, the district looks for various strategies of cutting expenditures without negatively impacting the core mission of education, Mooney said in a phone interview earlier in the day.

That is the financial face of the issue. Two bus drivers and a parent spoke of the human side.

“Everyone in this room cares about the children,” said driver John Ballis, who has been driving for four years after retiring from a business career. “We know the streets, the families and the kids. Speaking for myself and maybe some others, I’d give up the pension and sick days and take a pay cut, but no one asked us to do this.”

Howard Collier similarly has been a driver with the district for a short period. He took on the job three years ago after a 25-year career with SEPTA.

“I love my job here. There is not a child I drive that I wouldn’t adopt. We take the kids to school and bring them home safely,” said Collier, who said he drives youngsters from 5 to 21 who are challenged in various ways. “I will invite every board member to ride my bus, or any other bus, to see how we take care of our children.”

Colleen Murr was the third and last person to speak in the public comment period.

“I’m a concerned parent and the sister of a bus driver,” Murr said, referring to Linda McGinley, who has 13 years on the job. “The drivers we have are the type of people we want our children to ride with. My child is autistic. I want to know what kind of people we will have in our community.”

Mooney said the district has made clear in the RFP that a new firm would give consideration to hiring drivers on staff, as well as keep salaries at the current level for at least two years. But drivers do not appear secure with that pledge and they also look at the potential loss of benefits as critical.

Ballis, Collier and driver “Buck” Clark — among others — are also doing their own investigation on the financial repercussions. They offered a report by the National Education Association that suggests while the turn over to an outside company may appear to be a windfall for the first few years, the economic benefit can be short-term. Plus, once buses are sold and mechanical services dismantled, districts can find themselves in a precarious position if it wanted to bring transportation back in house.

Mooney said about seven firms requested the bid specifications, and proposals are due at the end of April. Prior to that, it seemed clear from comments by Ballis and Collier, transportation personnel would like an opportunity to talk with administrators and become part of the solution rather than the problem.